Our members

The EU Federation for the Factoring and Commercial Finance Industry (EUF) held its Annual Members’ Council Meeting in Brussels on 5th April where representatives of the Federation’s Members (who between them represent 97% of the European industry business turnover) gathered to hear the ExCom and Technical Committees review the extensive and effective range of lobbying and PR activities undertaken over the last twelve months and their plans for the coming year.

The EUF has lobbied on issues as diverse as AnaCredit, The Capital Markets Union, NBNI G-SIFIs, Shadow Banking, The NSFR and the Supporting Factor, interacted with the EBA, ECB, The Basel Committee, European Commission, Parliament and Council. It has held a second successful Factoring Summit, a Breakfast Workshop and also published a White Paper on the Industry which for the first time demonstrates the low loss given default nature of this type of funding.

After eight years of guiding its development, founding Independent Chairman John Gielen is retiring: “I am delighted that in a relatively short time we have been able to develop a small but effective organisation that has already achieved real success in building awareness and understanding of the importance and impact of our Industry!”

Erik Timmermans, Deputy Secretary General of FCI, was elected to take the role of Chairman, and Françoise Palle-Guillabert, Délégué Général of the ASF (France) became Vice-Chairman. Erik Timmermans commented “I thank John for his unstinting work in support of the goals of the EUF and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in the Federation to continue the vital work of building the role and impact of the Industry in Europe.”

In further organizational changes, Diego Tavecchia of Assifact (Italy) takes the Chair of the Prudential Risk Committee, and Magdalena Ciechomska-Barczak of PZF (Poland) becomes Chair of the Economics and Statistics Committee.

EUF response to second BCBS consultative Paper

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Published: 14 March 2016

EUF has sent its comments to the second consultative document of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on revisions to the standardised approach for credit risk.

EUF position paper on AnaCredit

EU Federation for Factoring and Commercial Finance Breakfast Workshop in European Parliament: Building Bridges between Finance and SMEs

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Published: 01 February 2016

Brussels, 27th January 2016 – Markus Ferber, MEP and Vice Chairman of the ECON Committee today chaired a breakfast meeting at the EU Parliament sponsored by the EUF.

The program brought together top EU policy makers, from both the European Parliament and the European Commission, finance providers and leaders of real economy SME users. The hundred attendees explored the opportunities and issues that these employment and wealth creating businesses face in obtaining funding on the ground.

Welcomed by John Gielen, Chairman of the EUF, a range of speakers analysed the impact of Capital Markets Union’s EU Commission flagship project to foster “real economy” funding , the lack of harmonized approaches across different countries and legislations, access to and the relative cost of finance, together with the issues of disseminating knowledge and information.

This theoretical approach was then tested against the real world experience of three SME businesses who talked of their operational challenges in obtaining funding and how in their cases factoring had provided an effective solution for meeting their working capital needs. "SME financing is not about building a bridge, but building bridges – this means offering each SME an individual financing solution that matches its particular business model," Markus Ferber, MEP, pointed out.

The forum gave the groups the opportunity to understand the positons and challenges that each face and was welcomed by all as an important and successful opportunity for dialogue, with doors opened for ongoing exchange of views and information.

John Gielen, the Chairman of EUF, commented: “This meeting was all about building bridges; between the regulators, the providers and SME finance users; today we have had a constructive opportunity to share experience and understanding that provides a new platform upon which to build.”

THE SECOND EU FACTORING AND COMMERCIAL FINANCE SUMMIT: PROVIDERS WORKING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT THE REAL ECONOMIES IN EUROPE

Brussels, 29th January 2016 – The Factoring and Commercial Finance Industry met yesterday in Brussels for its Second Annual Summit aimed at working together and developing common solutions to support the real economies in Europe.

The European Federation (EUF) and the global network Factors Chain International FCI (which has recently merged with the International Factors Group IFG) hosted a gathering of principal stakeholders including regulators, lawmakers and industry providers.

Brussels was again chosen as the centre of dialogue with European decision makers and a focal point in developing the environment to support business and SMEs in particular.

The keynote address was provided by Erik van der Plaats, Senior Expert in Bank Regulation and Supervision Unit, DG FISMA, European Commission, Netherlands who updated the audience on the “State of the EU and EU Commission Program & Objectives”, with a particular focus on bank regulation.The program also included the launch of the EUF’s White Paper Report on the Industry, which for the first time provides hard evidence of the low Loss Given Default nature of Factoring and Commercial Finance and highlights its role as a unique “win win” in finance, providing users with high levels of funding and providers with high levels of security.

John Gielen, the Chairman of EUF, is an Industry veteran with over fifty years’ experience: “The role of Factoring and Commercial Finance continues to develop; this Summit provides the opportunity for those who deliver and those who regulate to share understanding and develop opportunity”.

Peter Mulroy, Secretary General of FCI noted that “This Industry is universally important; Europe is the largest hub of a global business network, accounting for over 60% of a €2.35 Trillion turnover. With the enlarged FCI now representing around four hundred providers in over ninety countries, together we are delighted to see the role of this type of funding continue to grow”.

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EUF is the European Federation for Factoring and Commercial Finance in Europe. It comprises national and international industry associations that are active in the EU. The EUF seeks to engage with governments and legislators to enhance the availability of finance to business, with a particular emphasis on the SME community. The EUF acts as a platform between the factoring and commercial finance industry and key legislative decision makers across Europe bringing together national experts to speak with one voice.

FCI, Factors Chain International, is a global network of leading factoring companies, whose common aim is to facilitate international trade through factoring and related financial services. Currently the FCI network, which has just merged with the IFG, International Factors Group, counts over 400 providers in over 90 countries, and is actively engaged in more than 80% of the world's cross-border factoring volume.